Answer this question truthfully
### Question: Why Did You Create WikiDoc?
### Response: View a TEDx Talk by Dr. Gibson about WikiDoc here
"The tribe is smarter than any one" C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D.
I grew up as an only child in Oklahoma. One of the only books I had was a single volume of a blue encyclopedia from the 1920s that I bought at a garage sale when I was in second grade. I remember reading as much of that one volume of the encyclopedia as I could, over and over again. I kept it right next to my bed and was mesmerized by it. Eventually Safeway grocery stores gave kids volumes from the Golden Book Encyclopdia once your mom bought enough groceries. If just one young person is inspired by our blue medical textbook/encyclopedia like I was by an outdated encyclopedia, it will have been worth the effort.
Please read "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman. One of the premises of this book is that information technology has leveled the playing field of knowledge workers. Silos of knowledge are coming down. Knowledge workers are sharing information freely. Copyright is out, copyleft is in. Those communities that share knowledge most freely, grow and innovate most rapidly. Distributed learning and collaboration are the keys to success in the future. Knowledge workers are demanding free access to shared knowledge.
The "world is flat", but "medicine is flat" as well. It is in the spirit of fostering collaboration among health care providers in sharing medical knowledge that WikiDoc was created. WikiDoc is a global textbook or encyclopedia of medicine that anyone can add to and edit. It is also a source of healthcare news stories. Launched by C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. of Harvard Medical School in 2006, WikiDoc is the first and largest wiki dedicated to medicine on the internet with an initial focus on cardiovascular disease.
As a student I struggled to find information for rounds in the morning. As a former Chief Resident at the Brigham and Womens' Hospital, I remember struggling daily to find the latest information for morning report. As a fellow, finding materials for cardiac cath conference was always a challenge at the end of a long, busy day. Learning is a life long struggle and journey. As long as you are learning about a disease state, why not share what you have learned with others?
WikiDoc is intended to be a shared resource for housestaff (in preparation for morning report), medical students (in preparation for morning rounds) and fellows (in preparation for conferences). Nurses and attending physicians may find it valuable to share and improve upon their fund of general medical knowledge.